In Titus 1:4-5, Paul addresses Titus his “own son after the common faith,” instructing him as to why he left him in Crete – to set in order things that are wanting (lacking), and to ordain elders in each city.
Today, we laid the groundwork for selecting elders by looking at the criteria for the priesthood in Israel, as well as David, and the Lord Jesus himself. The key element in each of these cases was maturity. Those in leadership must be mature men.
Numbers 4:1-3: And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers,From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. (See ch.4:21-23 and ch.8:23-26)
2 Samuel 5:4: David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
Luke 3:21-23: Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
In each of the above cases, 30 years of age was the common denominator for serving the nation of Israel, whether it was the priesthood, or as king, or as Messiah. It was the Lord that determined the age of maturity. Since Jesus was the fulfillment of prophet, priest, and coming king, he had to meet that criteria.
John gives us the three basic stages of spiritual growth in 1 John 2:13-14: I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
Every church family has these three groups of believers:
Little Children – immature believers, just getting their spiritual footing. They need to observe and learn from those more mature than themselves.
Young men – believers who are transitioning into adulthood – spiritual adolescence. These participate in ministry under the guidance of mature believers.
Fathers – mature believers who lead by example and handle the word of God carefully with knowledge and wisdom.
These three groups can be understood in the business world by these titles:
Apprentice – little children – Know very little about the business, but must be trained in order to become a profitable member of the team.
Journeyman – young men – knows the basics of the business and can be trusted to complete projects that have been given to them.
Master craftsman – Fathers – knows the business, whether it is plumbing, carpentry, tech related, etc., and trains those in his care to broaden their understanding and ability within that business to become a valuable team member.
No church can be healthy if it only has immature believers who sit and wait to be fed and have their personal needs looked after by a precious few mature believers. There must always be older believers lifting up the young to maturity.
This coming Sunday we will unpack the criteria for mature church leadership in Titus 1:5-9, 1 Timothy 3:1-13, and 1 Peter 5:1-11. Please take some time this week to read these three scriptures and familiarize yourself with them.